- An example of sustain is for a foundation to support the house.
- An example of sustain is to survive days without food or water.
- to keep in existence; keep up; maintain or prolong: to sustain a mood
- to provide for the support of; specif., to provide sustenance or nourishment for
- to support from or as from below; carry the weight or burden of
- to strengthen the spirits, courage, etc. of; comfort; buoy up; encourage
- to bear up against; endure; withstand
- to undergo or suffer (an injury, loss, etc.)
- to uphold the validity or justice of: to sustain a verdict
- to confirm; corroborate
Origin of sustainMiddle English susteinen ; from Old French sustenir ; from Classical Latin sustinere ; from sus- (see sub-), under + tenere, to hold (see thin)
transitive verbsus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains
- a. To keep in existence; maintain, continue, or prolong: sustain an effort.b. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently.
- a. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for: the income needed to sustain a family.b. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage: We were sustained by her unflagging optimism.
- To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop: The beams sustain the weight of the roof.
- a. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.b. To experience or suffer: sustained minor injuries.
- To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
Origin of sustainMiddle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustin&emacron;re : sub-, from below; see sub– + ten&emacron;re, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.
(third-person singular simple present sustains, present participle sustaining, simple past and past participle sustained)
- To maintain, or keep in existence.
- To provide for or nourish.
- provisions to sustain an army
- To encourage (something).
- To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
- To confirm, prove, or corroborate.
- to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition
- To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support.
- A foundation sustains the superstructure; an animal sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.
- To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.
From Old French sustenir (French: soutenir), from Latin sustineo, from sub- + teneo.
sustain - Legal Definition